F150 and 27SAB Cougar

[yesiamapirate]

I have a similar situation. Can I piggy back on this question? I have tried the numbers but I am not making sense of them. Here are my numbers:
2016 F-150
2019 27SAB Cougar

Cougar:Sleeps 6
Hitch Weight 975 lbs.
Ship Weight 6651 lbs.
Gross Weight (GVWR) 8800 lbs.
Cargo Capacity 2149 lbs.
Length (Exterior) 32' 0"
Height (Exterior) 11' 4"
Width (Exterior) 8' 0"
Slides 1
Fresh Water Capacity 60 gallons
Gray Water Capacity 60 gallons
Black Water Capacity 30 gallons
L.P. Capacity 60 lbs.

Truck stickers:

[yesiamapirate]

Would anyone be willing to look at my numbers above and give me an honest opinion? My numbers look good but maybe a bad experience?

[spade117]

How much weight for people and supplies inside the truck and bed?

[yesiamapirate]

300 for people. I can estimate another 300 for gear. We camp local and it is only ever my husband and I.

Thank you for taking that time to consider my question!

[spade117]

Sounds like you are pretty close to the limits. There is quite a bit of other information that goes into determining the numbers, such as a WDH. Your best bet would be to get to a scale and get the exact numbers when you are loaded for a trip.

[yesiamapirate]

I have learned a lot on this forum. I was not given any clue by the Ford Dealer or the RV dealer. I didn’t have any trouble pulling it home. I stayed in the 60 mph range. It was windy.
For now It will do me no good to worry. I am within the limits of the truck. I love the Cougar we picked and probably would not have done it differently either way. Time will tell if a truck upgrade is in our future.

[GMcKenzie]

At 8,800 lbs trailer GVWR, and assuming 12.5% tongue weight you will put 1,100 lbs of weight on the truck. Add another 100 lbs for the WDH and you will be left with 529 lbs of payload left. Not sure you are within the limits for your payload.

My trailer is 8,200 lbs GVWR and my truck has a payload of 2015. I consider myself at the limit of what my truck will do.

[yesiamapirate]

Thank you for your thoughts. That was kind of what I came up with. Not a lot of wiggle room there at all. The bottom line for me will mean less in the truck and less in the trailer. Thankfully, it is just the DH and I. We are really minimal 'stuff' kind of people so that will help. We like to camp at our local favorite park so there is very little highway driving.
All I can say is, good thing we didn't go bigger!

[sourdough]

Just my thoughts since you asked for input;

An 8800lb. trailer (gvw), 1729 for payload in the truck, 1100 lbs. for tongue (at gvw) and 100 lbs. for hitch leaving 529 for folks and stuff. Just the 2 of you - 300? 400? If you throw the bbq pit and a tool box in you may be over not to mention the other equipment you really need to carry with you.

The trailer has a carry capacity of 2149. IMO with 2 of you that number is more than you will hit. We carry about 1400 lbs. for 2 of us - but I carry a lot of stuff in the back of my truck and that is where your 1/2 ton fails you big time with that large of a trailer so you may actually be close. IMO, as I've stated before, at about 7k-7500 lbs. you will exceed the capability of a regular 1/2 ton - which yours is. All just speculation based on "speculative" numbers but knowing what I know now, it would be too close for me to mess with.

On the other hand...:), "time will tell" and "you are within the limits of the truck".?? How have you ascertained you are within the limits? IF towing overweight or in some compromised situation "time will tell" is probably accurate - make sure it doesn't "tell" you something you regret. :nonono:

[linux3]

There are a bunch of monster truck fans on this forum and sometimes I think the advice is over kill.
That being said, if you have to weigh the people and gear you will be carrying and calculate to the pound I think you need a smaller TT or a bigger TV.
Having moved from an Explorer Sport to a Silverado I think life is better with enough truck.
But that's just me.

[DDavis]

Last spring I got the exact same trailer and already had a 2016 Ram 1500 Big Horn short bed with the 5.7 to tow it. The numbers looked good, I already had upgraded tires and got a 1500lb Blue Ox Sway Pro WD hitch with trailer. I thought I was all ready to go.

The towing experience started out ok, lots of power but it felt less than optimum in the stability. Fiddled with tire pressures, WD adjustment, weight in the trailer, everything I could think of, but no matter what I did highway speeds just felt iffy and uncomfortable. The whole assembly wandered around subject to the slightest wind and always pushed around a lot by passing semis. On my first longer trip I traveled from Missoula MT to Cortez CO and even though my power was fine, I was less than happy.

Just before summer ended, with the future in mind, I traded the 1500 in for a Ram 3500 6.7. What difference!!! Obviously this is way more truck than I need but it barely even notices the trailer behind it!

After a lot of reading over the winter I have come to the conclusion that while the numbers were right for the 1500, they do not tell the whole story. A large slab sided TT is a LOT different from a flatbed with the load down low and no sail for the wind or truck wake to catch and push around. Plus the 3500 weighs more than the TT whereas the the TT weighed more than the 1500. Nothing is ever said about that and I think it makes huge difference in these kind of tow rigs.

Retrospect I might have done the same thing except to get the 3500 sooner, but if I could not have done that I would have settled for a smaller trailer.